Education Only a Cameo In State of the Union

By Joetta L. Sack

Washington

With the nation at war and in recession, education issues were sidelined at the State of the Union Address last week. But President Bush, when he briefly turned to the subject about midway through the 50-minute speech on Jan. 29, still offered support for boosting teacher quality and recruitment, improving early-childhood education, and expanding national-service programs.

As expected, terrorism and the economy dominated the president's speech to a joint session of Congress. Mr. Bush noted that with the economy in recession, a "small and short-term" budget deficit would be included in his budget proposal, which was to be released Feb. 4. That, along with increased military spending, could squeeze funding for existing education programs and diminish any new proposals.

For educators, the speech was in sharp contrast to recent State of the Union speeches, going back to the Clinton administration, and to a similar address Mr. Bush gave to Congress last February, when education issues...